11/14/2007

I snapped this shot of a BMW taxi on my way to work a few days ago at the corner of Dunhua and Nanking in Taipei. My friend Jeff says that a lot of car-loving Taiwanese are being forced to turn their babies into taxis just to make the payments. To me, it seems like a steep price to pay. If Taiwan's motorists are being forced to such tactics, it makes me wonder about how they get the financing in the first place.

8 comments:

George
said...

I don't agree with what your friend Jeff said about the source of BMW TAXI, because it is true that average taxi drivers can't afford a BMW to earn their own living. On the contrary, they usually rent, instead of buying a vehicle to run business. As I know, those BMW TAXIs should come from second hand market, then be decorated as a cab.

No, I serious. Remember Agnes from the CT at Kojen (Chung-Ho? She and husband bought a BMW 3 series before they go married. They paid a third down, and paid monthly instalments of 11K. No joke. Basically like financing a house. The first 3 years is interest free. They did a survey a while back. 90% of 3 series BMWs are own by people in their mid 20s. While 5series are the primely owned by mafia type dudes, and the 7 series market dominated by the rich business owner type.

Like I said "steep price to pay". Fucking hell: I bought a brand new Toyota Corolla in 2003 for the price of that deposit! I got it in Ohio, which could mean that it was a better car than Agnes' BMW. (Cars imported to Taiwan are different than those imported to the States - all kinds of stuff is taken out of the frame to make the cost cheaper to compensate for taxes and etc.).

Still, NT$600,000 is lot for a young driver to come up with. I've worked since I was 15, but would've never gotten anywhere near making the down payment until more recently, at least after university.

Still, NT$600,000 is lot for a young driver to come up with. I've worked since I was 15, but would've never gotten anywhere near making the down payment until more recently, at least after university".

They'll get it from their parents. They don't have the first idea about working for a car or university. They'll have their mom cooking their lunchbox and wiping their ass for them till they're middle-aged.

My ex's little brother borrowed half of his parents' life savings to buy a car. He never bothered to pay the money back. Then, even though he never bothered to pay the money back, the parents asked my ex to lend him money to buy a house! My ex didn't have home herself, plus she just figured he was a high risk borrower, and turned him down (I think the parents meant that my ex shouldn't pursue being repaid and my ex saw it differently).